I have to admit that Christmas is getting on my nerves. I know it should be all about the joy of sharing, giving, spending time with family, remembering the birth of Christ and everything that makes this occasion special. Blah-blah. I spent 3 hours past midnight trying to find last-minute gifts to send to relatives. I spent my last paycheck getting fancy stuff for family which I hope they would appreciate. I spent the last couple nights writing Christmas cards and sorting them out for everybody. And yes, I’m a little torn and broke this time.

I know it must hurt even more for those who have to spend more than $300. Lol!

To avoid this serious exhaustion, I suggest we must all be ready for an occasion like this. Here are a few Christmas tips we can all use:

*Hoard up the entire year. It’s smart to simply put Christmas and gift-giving occasions in the hidden cranny of our brain and broach it every time we see stuff that are on sale. It’s not easy, especially for people with very short memory. But if we buy them early and then set them aside then we wouldn’t have to worry about them when it’s time to give them away. Caveat: Don’t buy things that get out of fashion within 3 or 6 months. Chances are it will just be thrown away.

*Set aside a Christmas piggy bank. If you don’t feel like thinking about Christmas every time you go shopping, think about a Christmas coin jar that you can fill throughout the year. Your pennies will count when you need them the most. All you have to do is bring them to the bank where they can change them to bills. Based on experience, a full coin jar can make up to $500 if you don’t ever touch it. Avoid temptations.

*Mark the calendar for organizing gifts. It’s not always fun when you run out of time getting gifts and wrapping or sending them. The best time to start doing it is the first week of December. Finish shopping, wrapping, and sending at least 2 or 3 weeks before Christmas. It’s not too early to get rid of holiday stress. And make your list simple!

At the end of my ordeal, I am now able to breathe easier. Merry Christmas to everybody!

If you’re caught up between a commitment and the holidays, what do you do? Excuses are nice, but they don’t do the trick. I talked with Internet Brands right before Thanksgiving. I planned to send them the samples the day before or after Thanksgiving. But preparing for the holidays (I spent 3 hours making egg rolls), driving down to Galveston (8 hours), meeting family, getting reacquainted, spending time together— no room left at all for writing.

I got to use my laptop in the car to read the researched material. When you’re a writer, you have to know what to bring with you on the go. There are times when you get stuck on waiting for someone and you have to make the most of your time. Does it feel like a nightmare? Well, if you make a commitment, you had better stick to it. If you don’t push, you know the consequences.

Galveston has finally come back to life.

I’m definitely not one of those writers that talk about doomsday on 2012. I have to admit though that even without seeing the movie, I have read stories, and I have had one of those little occult dreams one night. I have decided to write a book that relates to this phenomenon. (But this is certainly not the time or place to share it! Well, not yet, sorry.) Anyways, I look forward to completing it by 2011 so that it can be published.

Talk about “phenomenal” dreams!

But I will share some previews/excerpts as time goes by. Promise!

I cannot believe that I haven’t posted anything on the entire month of October! But hey, I have been traveling the whole time. Writing projects? Yeah, they keep coming. Writing ideas, I can’t keep track ’cause there’s so much. I’m starting the Life Do-it-Yourself series. I’m doing book reviews and travel essays. Yeah, I know, I’m on the verge of going crazy. So what? I live for the moment.

I think that I’m finally getting some direction when it comes to my activities. It’s exciting how my ideas get more unique everyday.

I went to another military training today. It’s mandatory. Fort Hood has nothing to do with it though. I work in a military library so we get trainings every now and then.

There’s so much stuff brewing. I wish I could take care of them all at once. But hey, while I”m at it, why don’t you tell somebody you know that I’m a great commercial writer and we can be friends? Just drop me a line when you get a chance.

Your little author is currently working on several projects:  200 articles for the last quarter of the year, a batch of write-ups for Digimedia, web promotion, new blogs, and an ongoing immersion on adventure books and films.

When I was a kid, I had been inspired by “The Neverending Story” (only the first part) to write my own adventure book. I was only nine! I typed the book chapter by chapter according to where my adventure took me. I glued the pages together — boy was I proud to flip through my very own book! Sadly, I left all my notebooks and drafts back home in Manila where I hope my family kept them throughout all these years. Those are crazy stuff. I swear I never thought of publishing any of my juvenile works. But then again, I could use those as inspiration to relive the adventurous stories I’ve always dreamed of writing.

Now, at twenty-seven, I’m getting the psychological urge to explore what could be. I would consider it even if there is a ton of ideas and activities to do.  Writers, just like surfers,  need to take advantage of the big swell of  sea wave to get the most thrill of something they love to do.  I shouldn’t be any different.

If not the Red Rock cosmic bowling or the Filipino sisig at Salo-Salo up on the north side of the Strip, watching Cirque du Soleil’s KA at the MGM Grand is probably the best part of our summer trip in Las Vegas. KA is an interactive, electrifying, and incredibly talented show. Beware if you’re sitting by the front row seats or the side of the theater. When the crazy tribe comes around stomping, you might just be jolted by one of them!

See my review of Cirque du Soleil’s KA here.

In Vegas, a license plate on a billboard displays: NO1WINS. This poem is an ode to those who spent their summer in the Sin City and went home with lighter pockets!

Day 5 in las vegas
burned out, bummed down
If you do not run home for escape
deluge like the breaking of Hoover Dam

the very blood that flowed and gave life to a dead desert
the dead desert will taketh your life away

Day 5 in las vegas
how do you define greed?
first fight a losing  battle
then score a few punches
Come back and lose your teeth
all for the overrated story of thrill and fun

Day 5 in las vegas
Man’s ultimate quest for financial wealth
ends here.
but Man, there’s an awful lot of good looking girls!

you can’t take them home, says my friend
Joey Bag O’ Donuts?
he comes to las vegas with one nice suit but broke
he leaves with one nice suit and in debt
no Showgirl in tow.

Day 5 in las vegas
Been here and done that so many times
yet the concept stays the same
My question never gets an answer.

Why? why come back?
is it the Glitz? Topless showgirls and circus acts?
millions of machines milking your pocket?
hundreds of Chinese food to pick on?
a new resort to watch out for every eighteen months?
All the lights and sounds and expensive things to buy.

Day 5 in las vegas
burned out and bummed down.
I’m going downstairs to the Wet Republic.
Wear my metallic bathing suit
Walk on the Strip
I may be broke like all the rest that leave the town.
but like all the rest that leave the town
I’m-a get my groove on.

A week long trip to Las Vegas in the middle of August heat. A hilarious night at Comanche Red River casino winning 12th place on free roll tournament where I practically bought no chips. A graduation from slots “prevent-addiction-before-it’s-too-late-class. A recent onslaught of web-related activities. These have all inspired me to create my mini web books (first launch will be about gambling to win). A one of a kind website where unique information is freely shared. It’s not a “life for dummies” or “an idiot’s guide to–” type of literature. It’s a reader’s gem. Look forward to these projects as  I will post their progress in my personal blog.

As for now folks, stay busy as a bee!

Oh, and don’t forget to stretch in the morning as sunshine and worked-out muscles are good for you.

Yesterday I attended a customer service training by Charlie Tyrian of Keep Charging Enterprises. Who doesn’t know this guy? Who doesn’t recognize his rambunctious style? It dawned to me that unless you spoke in front of a hundred or so audience ready to take a siesta in a hot Texas afternoon without any clownish somersaults, then you wouldn’t be as successful a motivational speaker as Charlie.

Not trying to be patronizing, I just started jotting down a few things that I thought were a little interesting and applies to my job at Sheppard. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. That’s only one of a million things you could learn in his seminar. It stuck to me like frozen peanut butter. My head started rolling with thoughts of whether I made a difference in somebody’s life, of whether I made a difference in any person I encountered.

I think I did.

I make my family happy. I make the library patrons feel special by stopping in the middle of putting away books to ask them if they need help with making copies on the machine. I say thank you to everyone who does me a favor. I try to do my best to cooperate, even though people everywhere are different and don’t appreciate it. Of course I’m not perfect, since I scream at my stepson to move the damned old washing machine out of the driveway when I’m pulling out. But at least I’m not a drama queen.

Charlie Tyrian should be proud of me. At the end of the seminar, we all got our own Rhino creed cards to remind us that we should get excited each morning to go through the day, feel happy that we are alive. I already know that, but maybe I should thank him for reminding me. Go Rhino!

It was my birthday almost a month ago. I had taken the freedom to drive around, shop at the mall, treat myself to girly things, and cut my chocolate cake. It was also that day when I picked up a copy of “The End”, the Black Eyed Peas’ latest album. I am a dance music fan and I got caught off guard. My first thought was, “Hey, if I didn’t like this album, then I can give it to someone else or just trade it.”

The Black Eyed Peas has been around for quite a while, you would think the creativity has been sapped out of their motley band. Some of their songs capitalized on Fergie’s vocal prowess. Some really stood out with Will-I-Am’s lyrical genius. A couple odes were even meant to inspire patriotism, such as Apl.de.ap’s rap interludes.

But the album “The End” is such a gargantuan leap from their early releases. Themed around current events and futuristic beats, the songs such as “Now Generation” and “Imma Be” deliver the band’s point of view without sacrificing the sound. There is a hint of techno and electronica in “Rock that Body” (doesn’t it remind you of Daft Punk?). Love songs still are very much a part of the band’s repertoire — with “Alive” being the most endearing. If you’re going to a B.E.P. concert, you certainly would want to hear live-out-loud songs such as “Showdown”, “Party all the Time” and “I Gotta Feeling”.

Fergie did such an awesome rendition belting out old grooves with her fresh, imaginative vocal craft. It’s difficult to miss her style in songs such as “Meet Me Halfway” and “Out of My Head”. But the ultimate number that sealed the B.E.P.’s new album’s success was “Boom Boom Pow”. Imagine a supercharged dance floor with everybody’s feet thumping and bodies “rocking to the beat”. Upon hitting the play button, a hollow, god-like voice (Taboo’s?) creates a chilly atmosphere of floating in outer space. Then suddenly the dance beats are unstoppable.

The Black Eyed Peas’ “The End” album is money well-spent. I hope though the album title is not a bad omen to those who look forward to more body-twitching  B.E.P. grooves. I don’t plan on giving away or trading my CD. Kudos to open minds, cultural diversity, and shaking booties!